Chiropractor pleads guilty to assault charge

Friday

Nov 15, 2013 at 4:00 PM

By Emily WeaverTimes-News Staff Writer

A Columbus chiropractor who also worked in Flat Rock pled guilty in August to assaulting a 74-year-old woman who said she fell asleep at an appointment and awoke to find the doctor touching her genitals and breasts, according to her lawyer.

Dr. Robert Powell Lilly was charged with one count of sexual battery following the incident on July 23, 2012. On Aug. 5, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault on a female. The sexual battery charge was dismissed.

The victim's attorney, Larry Serbin of Bridgman & Serbin PLLC in Charlotte, says his office plans to file civil charges against Lilly and the clinics where he practiced at the time of the incident. No charges had been filed as of Friday.

Lilly could not be reached for comment.

Nearly a year and a half after the investigation into the initial charge began and three months after his guilty plea, Lilly continued practicing in office spaces he rented at local clinics… until Tuesday.

Lilly rented space at Body Synergy in Flat Rock, seeing clients on Mondays until his lease was revoked Tuesday, when the owner said he found out about the charge. Lilly also worked out of an office at Adawehi Healing Center in Columbus. He has since been taken off the center's website.

Mike Phillips, owner of Body Synergy, said he was finishing a class Tuesday night when he started getting calls from others concerned about seeing Lilly on the news. He was blindsided by the information.

“I had no idea,” he said. “I was never even approached by the victim or Dr. Lilly or lawyers or anybody.”

Lilly had rented space at the office for about two years and Phillips said that a background check revealed no history of past offenses.

“There were no flags for me whatsoever,” he said. “It's scary that that happened and that it could still happen.”

July 23, 2012

The patient, who was 72 at the time and residing in Black Mountain, had been referred to Lilly from a doctor in California, who specialized in a form of chiropractic that helped her in the past.

According to a final decision from the N.C. Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the victim “had been a patient under active care with Dr. Lilly since March 2010 for problems with her jaw and spine.”

The victim “was comfortable with Dr. Lilly's treatment protocol, and it was not unusual for her to doze off during the course of a 50- to 60-minute office visit,” according to the board. “On the office visit of July 23, … (the victim) was gowned and wearing underwear while on the treatment table… (she) dozed off while on her back. When she awoke, she realized that Dr. Lilly's hands were under her gown. He brushed his hands over her breasts… He then placed his hand under her panties and touched her vagina.”

The victim “was surprised and upset by Dr. Lilly's actions. She cried on the way home and reported the matter to law enforcement authorities in Henderson County within two or three days. For the next three months, she frequently awakened shaking and crying, and she continues to experience emotional trauma from the experience of July 23,” according to the board.

Low chance

A psychological assessment by Dr. Pete Sansbury, published in board's final decision, noted Lilly's “lack of prior sexual offenses” and “no history of violent crimes.” Lilly was found to be in the “low range for future risk of sexual offending.”

According to the plea negotiation, Henderson County District Court continued judgment on Lilly's case for 12 months, ordering him to “enter into private counseling sessions with Sansbury Psychological Services PA” until Aug. 15.

“If the court is satisfied that the defendant has actively participated in private counseling sessions during this time, and the counselor provides the court with a recommendation that further counseling is not necessary, the court shall enter a permanent prayer for judgment” to expunge his record, according to plea documents.

The licensing board found Lilly's actions to be “lewd or immoral conduct” that “resulted in actual emotional harm to the patient,” “violated the victim's trust and preyed upon the victim's vulnerability.”

He entered a plea of guilty to the charge with the board in October. On Oct. 26, the board suspended Lilly's license to practice chiropractic in the state for six months, beginning Jan. 1. Prior to his reinstatement, “Dr. Lilly shall complete six hours of Board-approved remedial education in Ethics and Sexual Boundaries” and pass an examination in the class. He is also ordered to complete a “continuing education requirement for license renewal.”

Upon his reinstatement, Lilly will be required to serve two years of probation with the condition that he “not touch, massage, rub or purport to treat the breasts or vaginal area of any female patient.” He is also banned from treating any female patient without a chiropractic assistant present in the room on the premises with the door to the examination room open.

The name and contact information of the chiropractic assistant or assistants he employs are also required to be submitted to the board.

Under the terms of his probation, Lilly will also be required to complete psychological counseling as ordered by Henderson County District Court.

'Non-force'

According to the victim's attorney, Larry Serbin of Bridgman & Serbin, PLLC in Charlotte, “Dr. Lilly first saw the victim at Adawehi Health and Wellness Center in Columbus. She estimates that she treated at that location approximately 10 times.”

Serbin said Adawehi claimed Lilly was an independent contractor and that he continued to work at the center until a few days ago. An arrest warrant listed his address as 158 Adawehi Lane, Columbus. Adawehi could not be reached for comment Friday.

“Lilly practiced a type of chiropractic called Directional Non-Force Technique. This is apparently very different from a typical chiropractic session,” Serbin said. “The victim was referred to Dr. Lilly by the head of D.N.F.T., Dr. Christopher John.”

In D.N.F.T. sessions, doctors “utilize a diagnostic system for subluxation analysis consisting of gentle challenging and a unique 'Reactive Leg Reflex,'” according to John's website, nonforce.com. “This testing allows the body itself to indicate the locations and directions of misaligned structures that are producing nerve interference… D.N.F.T. chiropractic thrusts are able to achieve these structural corrections without the torque, strong force and associated articular sounds that are often associated with traditional chiropractic.”

Serbin said his client “had been in California receiving treatment from Dr. John and inquired into local care in North Carolina. While he is not currently listed as a referral for 2013, Dr. Lilly was the only N.C. DNFT chiropractor for the previous years; thus, John recommended Lilly to the victim.”

Phillips said he was a patient of Lilly's and never saw this coming.

“I know I've been referring him clients for a long time,” the Body Synergy owner said. “I just had no idea that went down. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been here... I'm still beside myself (that) this happened. It's just sad… The worst part is that it happened a year-and-a-half ago and I heard about it for the first time when everybody else did.”